L.A. Rams add big weapon to arsenal if Gurley is a go
C’mon, Sean. NFL fantasy playoff pool players need to know. Is Todd Gurley 100 per cent healthy to play Saturday or not?
Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay hasn’t flat-out confirmed this week whether Gurley — one of the NFL’s top running backs — will play against the Dallas Cowboys, in the first of two weekend NFC divisional playoff games. That’s because McVay probably can’t say for sure. That said, it sure looks as though Gurley’s a go.
The NFC West champion Rams (13-3) are counting on the presence of Gurley, the running back who led the NFL in touchdowns this season with 21, but who missed the last two weeks with a knee injury.
Gurley spent last week’s bye further rehabbing the undisclosed ailment, but mainly worked on getting his cardio back up to game speed. “Yeah, he’s feeling good, he’s gonna practice,” McVay said after the Rams’ Wednesday morning walk-through, and before afternoon practice. “We’re going to follow a normal routine as when he’s been (able to play) this season. He didn’t have any soreness from (Tuesday’s practice). He’s going to take part in (Wednesday’s). So very good news on that front.”
Sure is. But Gurley did not practise fully Wednesday, for the second straight day. The Rams practise one more time (Thursday) before mostly resting Friday, prior to Saturday night’s game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Gurley apparently likes to play practical jokes, and got his head coach good on Wednesday morning, shortly after showing up to the Rams’ facility.
“He got a kick out of joking with me that he was real sore today,” McVay said. “I didn’t think it was that funny.” He chuckled anyway. There’s probably nothing funny to the Cowboys (11-6) about having to face Gurley. For two years straight, since McVay succeeded Jeff Fisher as head coach and instantly transformed a talented but underperforming team into a juggernaut, the fourth-year running back has been the most prolific non-kicking scorer in the league. He’s also as dangerous a two-way back (that is, rushing and receiving) as any in a league chock full of them.
In 2017, Gurley led the NFL in touchdowns (19) and all-purpose yards (2,093), and ranked second in both first downs gained (98) and rushing yards (1,305). In 2018, Gurley ranked first in both touchdowns scored (21) and first downs gained (96), third in rushing yards (1,251) and fourth in all-purpose yards (1,831), and he missed the last two games, about 12.5 per cent of the season. Speaking of those missed games, Gurley hasn’t played in a victory in more than a month, since Dec. 2, because the Rams lost the last two times he played: at Chicago on Dec. 9 and at home to Philadelphia on Dec. 16. With Gurley potentially out for a few weeks, the Rams signed veteran running back C.J. Anderson off the street. Anderson looked so good at times in Denver from 2013-17, but did not do much this season as a thirdstringer in Carolina before getting cut after nine games.
In the Rams’ season-closing games, Anderson tore it up in Gurley’s place, rushing for 167 yards in a 31-9 blowout of Arizona, and 132 yards in a 48-32 demolition of San Francisco. “He’s done a great job,” Gurley said of Anderson. “He came in and he’s been doing better than me. He’s been killing it, man … He’s been a Pro Bowl running back, a Super Bowl player. He’s a great player.”
McVay reiterated Wednesday that it’s great to be going into such a big game with two established backs who can both dominate. Each will get carries should Gurley play, McVay said.
“If Todd’s able to go, we want to get him going. But I think we want to get C.J. (going) as well. I think you can expect to see a good balance of both, some different things that maybe gets those guys on the field.” They face a Dallas defence that absolutely shut down Seattle’s league-leading rushing attack in last Saturday’s 24-22 wild-card game.
The Rams’ rushing attack ranked third in the regular season and is sure to play better with a Gurley-Anderson tandem. Of course, what the Rams possess that the Seahawks don’t is a top-shelf passing attack, piloted by third-year quarterback Jared Goff. It ranked fifth in the NFL, whereas Seattle’s ranked 27th. Goff talked about the added impact a healthy Gurley brings to the Rams’ offence.
“He’s obviously electric with the ball in his hands, and can do so many things on the ground, through the air, everything in between,” Goff said of Gurley. “Then, his (pass) protection ability, and how smart he is, his ability to be a good teammate, his ability to be a leader, it’s all part of who he is.”